Lynda has definitely got the power
SHE is a strong leader in her day job, but now Lynda Banks has flexed her muscles to great effect at the Scottish Open Powerlifting Championships, landing four new Scottish Powerlifting records into the process.
The head teacher at Strathdearn Primary School, who only took up weight training seriously in March last year, lifted a total of 242.5kg across three different disciplines to become the 63kg Master one record holder for the Scottish Powerlifting Federation.
Banks (49) also won the 63kg division outright, beating women in the open category some 30 years her junior.
“I set two new personal bests as well and one of them was a 127.5kg deadlift, so I was delighted,” she said. “I won my weight category and set four new Scottish Powerlifting records. It was a fantastic feeling.”
It was just four years ago that Banks really got into keeping fit, but lifting weights only seriously began when a friend introduced her to Gavin Laird, a former strongman competitor who now owns the Forge Gym, Inverness.
"I started powerlifting and it all really took off from there," she said. "I couldn’t have done this without Gavin as he’s so knowledgeable about powerlifting.
"I had been deadlifting four around 10 months, but I only began doing squat and bench press about a month before the competition when I decided to enter.
"It’s taken me in a bit of a different direction because I love deadlifting. Just having that focus on your training is great and it’s amazing what you can do.
"My family and friends have all been very supportive, while all the children at school seem to have been very impressed by my achievements."
Banks, who has only been head teacher at Strathdearn since August, normally trains five times a week after school, splitting her time between training in Grantown-on-Spey, where she lives, at the Craig MacLean Leisure Centre, and the Forge Gym.
"It’s a balance," she conceded. "I’ve got a really important job, but I do try after school to put in a couple of hours at the gym."
A milestone is approaching for Banks with her 50th birthday next year, but she has no plans to scale back her powerlifting ambitions.
"Our school motto is ‘if you believe it, you can achieve it’ and it’s certainly worked in my case.
"Going to Dumfries for the Scottish Open Powerlifting Championships was a great experience. It’s definitely not put me off.
"In fact, I’m hoping to persuade another three girls to join me when I go to the Scottish Unequipped Championships, which take place in Glasgow in June.
"However, my long-term goal is to break the British record of 155kg."
Banks had made an instant impact on the Scottish powerlifting scene, but Laird does not expect it to be a one-off.
"Lynda is an aggressive and technical lifter, especially in the deadlift," he said. "She has made speedy progress to date and I fully expect her to hold British records by this time next year.
"She has a great future ahead of her and that is something I think she would never have seen herself doing a year ago."
As well as focusing on her powerlifting, Banks is also practising strongwoman events such as the farmers walk and truck pull with a view to competing in the Highland’s strongest woman contest in May.
What is Powerlifting?
Powerlifting is made up of three lifts — the squat, bench press and deadlift. Each competitor gets three attempts at each lift, with their best efforts being added together to give a total. The lifter in each weight and age category with the highest total is the winner.
